Rose of the Skeleton
by NightcatMau
Summary: A reboot of a story I've actually rewritten three times. But here it is: Valkyrie is all set to leave Dublin when Skulduggery makes her an offer of accepting a rose and becoming his. Rated M for themes of suicide and other adult stuff. The pair is dark co


A/N: I don't own Skulduggery and Valkyrie. No, you are not imagining things. This reboot of a reboot is me testing a theory. I do a lot better with characters I must borrow. So let's see how much the story changes. Uh, Val is in her 40s just to make things interesting and story is from her POV. Uh, massive spoilers. And I changed things here and there. Cause, you know. Reasons. This is dark compared to my usual way of writing them, so reader be forewarned.

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I looked out the window into the raging storm that was currently trying to tear Dublin to pieces and saw a sight that melted even my cold heart. There, across the street, barely visible where he stood against a lamp post was Skulduggery Pleasant, cold and miserable with the freezing rain lashing down on him looking at me with a haunted expression.

He hated getting wet with a passion and if he wasn't at least carrying an umbrella to avoid using magic in public something was seriously wrong. He was lost and he'd come to me for help. I felt terrible. We'd been close once. Best friends and partners. Once. I ran out into the storm to him and he grabbed me to him tightly, then broke down trembling. "Please, Valkyrie." He rasped. "Please, come back to me. I need my best friend with me - I can't take it, the emptiness. Please."

"Shh. It's OK, you're with me now." I said hugging him to me just as tightly. I hadn't hugged him in an eternity and I'd missed the feeling of his hard bones against me. Maybe he was a violent and angry man, maybe some people would have enjoyed seeing a man as ruthless as he could be suffer, but he was helplessly shaking in my arms and begging for help and I wasn't about to abandon him. Skulduggery Pleasant _never_ asked for help, he never showed me his weaknesses, so something was seriously wrong. "Come on inside." I said and he let me lead him into the restaurant I'd stopped at before leaving the city.

I held his hand as we sat at the table and ordered for him. Thanks to an upgrade to a full body façade he could eat now, and I was relieved to see that as he unwound his scarf he'd thought to activate it. _He has a habit of forgetting at the worst possible times,_ I reflected, and the memory made me smile.

Skulduggery smiled back hopefully. He had just enough control to keep people from seeing him as he was but the gloved hand that gripped mine was begging me to stay with him. To not leave him alone in the frightening wilderness he lived in. The problem is, the wilderness is Skulduggery's own mind and nothing can be done to fix him.

 _In a more savage time_ , I reflected, _there wouldn't have had to have been_. Justice is a fairly new and nebulous thing in human history, and one we often fail to reach when our reptilian brains kick in and killing the offender is the swiftest solution. That that is pretty much Skulduggery's method of being a detective in a nutshell hadn't won him much of a fanbase. There was even ugly talk now of him needing to be stopped. Never mind the fact that he only killed the worst of the worst.

His food came, lots of it and more for me. "Eat, you're not alone. Trust me." I said and he ate slowly at first, keeping his eyes on me warily. He'd been hurt too many times in his life to completely trust anyone, I knew that.

At his best Skulduggery Pleasant was everything he wanted to be. He wore the finest tailor-made clothing, shoes and accessories. His colognes were top shelf, his education vast and from centuries of experience on the battle field and as a detective. He was wealthy, so far as I knew a world-traveler when need be, and a Dead Man. And I knew because he told me all of this over the years of our partnership and from getting to go on cases with him as his partner and loyal combat accessory.

It was what he had told me recently that had troubled me. I'm nothing special, I never have been. I don't care if I have saved the world, anyone could, really. And a lot of other people do it all the time. I'm not that bright, I've got no looks, no matter what Skulduggery says otherwise, and I've got nothing to impress him with. Yet he was there now, having tried for weeks to convince me that he was in love with me and that my refusal to believe him was killing him. Seeing the wreck before me I believed him. And I knew it was killing the dapper Skeleton Detective to look anything but perfectly GQ.

We both knew how dangerous what he was asking for was. Skulduggery, gentleman though he was, was also a thug in every sense of the word, detective or not, and absolutely insane. He was also Lord Vile and if I agreed to stay and ever left, no matter how justified I was, he'd kill me. He'd kill me and not even blink and we both knew it.

And it would not be his fault. Skulduggery was logical and methodical, but when he truly wanted something his emotions took over and then he had no more self control than a raging forest fire. But I was in love with him and we both knew that too. I had no idea why he'd picked me. Just that he had and that he needed me to be there for him. I wasn't naive. There had likely been countless others before me and would be countless others after. But maybe we kept the darkness at bay just a little bit, and that was reason enough for me to stay.

Skulduggery looked at me and smiled. It wasn't his usual overly done and rather frightening smile he tended to use with a façade or a threat. It was as close to normal as I'd ever seen from him. "I knew I could count on you, my dearest combat accessory. That you understood. Do you want to stay in the city for a while? I can show you the sights, then we can travel, anywhere in the world. We've earned the time off, I think."

"That would be nice." I admitted. "I'd love to see the city, then I think traveling will do us both good." I hesitated. I knew the words he was waiting for, the words that would give him power over me. And they had nothing to do with taking orders from him either since we both knew I never listened to a damn thing he told me. "I love you." I said softly and the smile he rewarded me made binding my fate to his worth it.

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 **That was, I'm not sure what that was. Huh.**

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A/N: I don't own Skul or Val.

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Skulduggery ordered more to eat and drink and I watched him carefully. "I'm OK now, Val, really." He said happily. He even smiled for me then adjusted his fedora at an angle he felt was charmingly rakish and I laughed. "There's my girl. First time I've seen you smile in a long time. You missed me, didn't you?"

"I did. I also got your message. Skulduggery-" I took his hand in mine and he smiled tenderly at me then shrugged.

"So now you know." He said, his smile fading softly. "And yet, you came to me. You rescued me from the rain." He looked at me. "I can't change who I am. Essentially, I am a good man. If you forget the war, I suppose. But I like hitting people and I like being a detective. You just needed to know that I'm always something else too. I didn't stop being _me_ when I took my armour off."

"Then I learn to adjust. I don't judge you, Skulduggery. Ever. I love you and I'm not loosing you." I knew what I'd just signed up for, especially when a delighted smile crossed his face.

"I could be happy again, if you'd stay at my side, I most certainly could." He said his intense gaze burning into mine.

"Then do it. Give me, let's say, a rose. Then I'm yours and we travel the world together. You think I don't understand how alone you are? You think I don't think a hundred times a day of just walking into traffic and-" His look silenced me.

I wasn't allowed. He produced a rose, one so deep a shade of red it was nearly black. I knew it was as close to the rose hidden in the design of his ebon armour as possible. He wore all black in battle and although not bound by his armour or the symbol he'd chosen this one for a reason. If he so desired it would bend my will to his. "Let us make a contract, my sweet. I can keep vermin off the streets with you but otherwise devote all my attention to you. Although it is true our work is the brutal nightmare our enemies like to whine about it will still be fun. However, I will need constant attention at times. And you will give it to me. Take the rose." I took it without hesitation and he leaned over the table and kissed me gently. "That's my girl." He whispered.

He was content now, and I knew he was relieved. He wanted normalcy, he wanted a relationship that lasted after his abrupt appearance on the battlefield and depending on his mood and inclination was either slow and painful death or swift annihilation. I knew very well he could kill me as easily as he'd killed countless others, that was the inherent danger of being his, but he was also ferociously protective and devoted to me. He gave me another pleased grin. "We're going to enjoy being together, Val, you'll see."

"We will. You're the only one who understands me. You know what it's like to have that darkness inside of you." I admitted. "And you know how to have a good time, I'll give you that." I added more cheerfully and he flashed me a pleased grin.

"That I do. But we'll help one another, Val. Through the dark times. You don't have to be alone anymore, you have me." He gave me a smile that melted my heart and I knew in his own way he was courting me.

"That goes for you as well, Skulduggery. I don't expect you to face the future alone. And I'll admit I've loved you for a long time. I just figured you'd never feel the same way because you've made fun of me when I told you before. But hey, you're right. I have you with me now. About everything else-" I shrugged. "I'm not with you because of who you are, I'm not some silly girl who sees you as darkly romantic. Though I do admire you for it in a sense. I'm not here to rescue you either. I promise you." He looked at me for the longest time.

"I've never heard anyone say that before. But I believe you. There's so much I can show you, so much I can teach you. I admit to my hedonism and I am not ashamed of it. I suppose I should slow down at some point. Just simply not today."

"I generally hit a wall and go numb." I said and he stared at me more intently. "The Internet is for porn, all right?" I asked, feeling myself blush.

Skulduggery chuckled, a deep and sensual sound. "I meant the sensual pleasures other than the flesh. But if that is your normal inclination, Valkyrie, and my, how you can blush, I can be everything you've ever dreamed of. Even anyone. I have magic and glamours you wouldn't believe.. But after a night with me you aren't going to want anything else. And neither am I."

* * *

 **I'm not sure if his last line was romantic or scary.**

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A/N: I still don't own either one.

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Meal and tour of the city over I was thrilled when Skulduggery took me to the most expensive hotel in the city and got the whole top floor just for us. Until we were alone in the private elevator that would carry us to our rooms. Skulduggery radiated menace at times and he was clearly angry about something. I realized I was alone with a man I could have easily defined as a serial killer and had only myself to blame. "Do you fear me?" He asked suddenly.

I looked at him. "Right now? Yes."

He stared at me. "There are only two kinds of people who have to fear me, Valkyrie. Those who make me angry, generally by committing crimes, and those who already fear me because that _really_ angers me. All right?" He asked, leaning in to touch my face softly with a gloved hand. I took in his huge and slightly manic grin and nodded. I leaned into him then for comfort and he looped an arm around me. "See? Nothing to fear."

"What were you angry about?" I asked as we got settled into our rooms. Skulduggery looked at me in surprise then shrugged.

"Being Vile I can read your mind. You've been wondering if I'm really going to give you pleasure or just rape you. If you had wanted to be attacked you chose the wrong Dead Man." There was an edge to his voice. Then he went on his tone becoming bitter and hard. "And you're wondering if, deep down inside where it really counts, if I'm not just the same as him. Well, I'm not, if that helps any." His voice was a dangerous growl now. I knew who he meant and I knew he hated the man with a passion. I had to tread carefully.

"Yeah, it does actually. And even you have to meditate sometime." I said cheerfully and let me be clear, with most violent people that would be a mistake. And most of the time it would have been a mistake with Skulduggery but I knew I couldn't show weakness or fear to this side of him. He stared at me his teeth exposed in a grin that was slightly thoughtful then laughed and mussed up my hair.

"That's my kitten. Cuddly and sweet but she shows those tiny little claws. You're so cute. Just remember mine are a lot bigger." He said it in a friendly way and that was more scary than if he had threatened me.

"Skulduggery, if you really don't want me here." I began and he turned to me, the tension in the room increasing.

"Oh, I want you here, Valkyrie. You see, I wasn't kidding when I said I have no control when I get angry. And you've got two choices. You honor your rose agreement and I will leave you in one piece if a bit sore, or you spurn me and I'll go on a rampage of street cleaning and even throw you out that window first." He pointed across the room. "So what will it be, Valkyrie? Are you going to free fall or you going to endure my embrace?" He hissed.

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 **Free fallin' yeah, I'm free fallin'.**

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A/N: I still don't own them, alas.

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Skulduggery loomed closer then burst out laughing. "The look on your face, Valkyrie, that was priceless. I'm sorry, but I can't stand being constantly judged for being Vile, you know that. The big scary general was going to get you. Rahh." He wheezed. "Who needs a hug?" He cuddled me into him. He was giggling as if it had actually been funny. "I'm sorry, Valkyrie, but we needed to get that whole big, scary Lord Vile thing out of the way, OK?" He asked. "You know I wouldn't hurt you." He crooned, picking me up and carrying me to the couch in our living room suite where he flicked on everything he could work with a remote. "Isn't this the life?" He asked cheerfully.

"It is." I agreed. "I'm happy to be with you." I snuggled into him and he purred happily. Yeah, I mean he purred and no, I don't know how. Probably another one of those creepy mimic skills of his. He can also scream like a woman and cry like a baby. I've seen him do it. You know that urban legend about serial killers using the cries of babies to lure women outside at night? Well, there are female criminals, and he read it too.

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Skulduggery was actually playful the rest of the day, the tension of having put the obligatory scare into me so we could get it over with gone. And he was actually pretty good about waiting until we got into bed to approach me, and even then the gentle smile was back on his face. He warned me that each time wasn't going to be as gentle, but for our first night together he didn't mind taking it easy on me.

I had no idea if he was joking or not. I also had no idea if the man I thought I knew actually existed. When I awoke in his arms the next morning I got my answer. "Good morning, my dear." He said, purring contentedly. "Sorry for scaring you yesterday." He said contritely. "You're my little destroyer of worlds." He murmured, nuzzling into me then looked at me contentedly. The facade was gone for the moment and he blinked what served as his eyes at me sleepily.

Skulduggery had captivating eyes sockets that were deep black pools in his skull that I always got lost in and he knew it. Now his gaze was gentle and content. "I'm thinking I have to get you your own armour at some point." He said happily. "Then you'd be sturdier and more robust."

"I'd like that. Skulduggery, if we have a case to be getting to soon-" He hushed me with a kiss.

"Perish the thought. It would break our contract and you'd be rid of me. No, my dear, you'll be my world for right now. Justice can come later, for once." He bit at my neck then activated his facade to kiss it. "Mm. You were great last night, but that was just the warm up." He said teasingly. "This morning I think I'll even take you to breakfast." He hesitated. "Look, just so we're clear I only said those things yesterday because your fear hurt me. Am I a monster? Most certainly, I am. But if I'd ever seen you as the enemy you wouldn't be here. I just want your trust, Valkyrie." He said, a hint of the artic chill Vile spoke in when he rarely chose to speak creeping into his voice.

"You have it, Vile, I love you." I said and he drew me into his embrace as his shadows enveloped us.

"I love you too. I'll be as gentle as possible with you, always." He promised then his shadows started to caress my neck, the gesture was sensual and along with another rose I felt myself slipping into a drugged stupor as he completed his work on forging my own shadowy armour.

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 **You can go ahead and read anything you like into the last line. Knowing Skulduggery it fits. I'm torn between skipping the transformation and showing it.**

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A/N: I don't own Anton, Saracen or Dex.

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After my armour was complete Skulduggery held me to him tightly. I still didn't understand how he could make shadows into permanent things and part of me knew I didn't want to. "Sleep, my dear." I did and when I awakened we left the city, but not before stopping at a jeweler's where we selected and exchanged rings. Skulduggery held me to him tightly, then escorted me outside to an alley where his shadows rose around us and when they fell we were with our brothers in the Midnight Hotel.

And I was instantly at home, each of my brother's greeting me with warm embraces. "Welcome as always, Valkyrie." Anton said as he hugged me first, then Dexter and Saracen each took their turn to greet me and I'd never felt so welcomed anywhere. I'd loved my brothers as I saw the Dead Men instantly when we'd first met, and the feelings had only grown through the years.

And I got to see a side of Skulduggery I'd never seen before. He was relaxed for the first time in a long time. The Midnight Hotel was a safe haven and if anyone wanted us Anton and our brothers would fight to the death to defend us. Not that we needed defended, exactly, but having friends never hurt either.

Skulduggery knew his behaviour being more relaxed had surprised me at first, but he never called me on it and I appreciated that. It had never occurred to me how intelligent he was either and I enjoyed listening to his discussions with the other men.

And he appreciated that I freed him from one part of our agreement when Anton came to us in the common room one night. "I am truly sorry to ask this, Skulduggery, but I need you to join me in the Hotel's defense. Some old friends of our have returned."

"Necromancers?"

"Yes, the ones who sided with Wreath to protect Serpine." Anton flicked his gaze to me. "Wreath is with them." He said in that quiet voice of his. "I'm not going to ask you to fight him."

"Try and stop me." I said and he smiled in reply.

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There wasn't even much for the rest of us to do. The reason we were running was that the wrong people had found out Skulduggery's secret. And they wanted Vile dead at any cost. Well, they at least _got_ Vile. He appeared in the midst of the Necromancers and had destroyed them all before we could even move to join him. Then he was Skulduggery again and walked calmly back into the hotel as if nothing had happened.

"I'm proud of you, and thank you for saving me." I said as I went up to hug him and he chuckled.

"Well, of course you're proud of me, Valkyrie, I'm _me_."

Anton joined us, a warm smile on his face. "When he went to find you we'd hoped he'd found the right one at last. Come. Let's go meet in the common room with the others. A storm's rolling in and I remember camping out with them all night on a mission in a storm. Like old times" And so we did, the men enjoying getting together as we always did. No one there was afraid of storms, we just liked the company, and when we'd all at last fallen asleep in our sleeping bags we normally used on missions we were all content.

I awoke in the morning to breakfast cooking and smiled. Anton always cared for all of us. I would have gotten up to help but Skulduggery was draped across me, staring at me with a rare goofy smile on his face. "Get off." I said giggling and he laughed.

"Good morning, dearest! It was a good fight, well, for _me_ it was, and repelling the vermin from our doors is always enjoyable." He said happily and I smiled at him. In the city he was this big tough guy, but out here he was a little kid. I liked the change.

"We should help make breakfast." I said with a sleepy yawn.

"I'll help, you two cuddle." Dexter said as he passed us, so we did, snuggled in one another's warmth.

"Thanks." Skulduggery said as we snuggled. "Thanks for understanding. My being Vile don't change how I feel for you, my beloved. But it is part of who I am."

"You're my spouse and one of the best fighters in the family." I said when he started to tremble slightly. "And you aren't ever loosing me, ever."

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 **Aw! To be clear, yeah, he's still a dangerous man. But dangerous men do have families and kids and pets and those people are most often not only safe but ferociously protected and loved.**

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A/N: I don't own Anton, Saracen or Dex. This chapter contains themes of suicide and depression. Reader discretion is advised.

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Dexter and I were watching TV when news of a train wreck that had killed six people came on. "Lucky bastards." I said and he turned to me with a sad look. He knew that like Skulduggery I struggled with depression, a beast with more tentacles and claws than any monster we'd ever fought and the main reason I didn't fear Lord Vile or anything else. I just didn't give a good god damn a lot of the time.

"I wish I could help." Dexter said as he took my hand and when I murmured that he helped just by being there he fearfully added: "What about when I'm not here? What about when you're alone?" I shrugged.

"I haven't tried to kill myself for a very long time, Dex. That doesn't matter either. Don't worry. After a while the pain almost feels sweet in a way. It keeps me company and it reminds me I'm alive. And it will pass. Sometimes it seems it never will, but it always does." He nodded and I heard a sniff from the doorway. Saracen had overheard and was crying. A normally happy man he really feared my dark times so I did my best to keep them hidden from him.

"It's OK, I'm fine." I assured him, and I was. I'd learned a long time ago to find alone time when the worst parts hit. Partly to hide my weakness from anyone because you never knew who you could trust, and partly out of a need to just be alone at such times. "I used to be the happiest little kid you ever saw." I told him and sipped my coffee. "Then I had my childhood."

Thankfully they all had talked to me before. So they knew I actually functioned a lot better by not being on any antidepressants than on, that therapy was not for me, and that I functioned quite well most of the time despite my little handicap. It had even come in useful once upon a time. Depression seeming to be de rigueur for brooding detectives everywhere.

Skulduggery joined us, not even needing to be told what had happened. "I have a rather splendid idea; why don't we all go out for coffee?" He offered and I nodded. Moving helped, vast quantities of the devil's brew helped. And they did that day, along with good amounts of sugar and the warmth of my family's love. I felt a little sorry for them, I knew it was hard on them to look after me at such times, but I reminded myself that on my good days I helped look after them, so it was a balance like much of life is.

Skulduggery sitting beside me in the booth looked at me. "Rather makes you glad you rescued me from the rain, doesn't it, my dearest?" He asked gently as he took my hand in his.

"Yeah, it does. I love you, Skulduggery, you understand what this is like, you've helped the others understand. They never fuss or act like nursemaids, and you don't either, so thanks. A girl likes to keep her dignity, you know." I gave him a shaky smile and we both laughed.

"That was the day you saved me, you know?" He asked and I nodded. It was the day I'd saved myself as well, but we both knew that. As ruthless and violent a being as Skulduggery was and he was admittedly pure destruction at times, he'd saved me with that rose. The symbol of pain and suffering for countless others - who deserved it, to be honest - was a token of our promise to one another, our contract and I hoped the day would never come when I forgot my part of the bargain and let the darkness in my heart and in my head claim me at last.

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 **Now** ** _that_** **is how you end a story. Just to be clear, there never was any rose on Lord Vile's armour, except in my head canon. And in there Valkyrie's armour has a white one to compliment his black one. Don't ask me. It makes perfect sense if you don't think too hard about it.**


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